Bag making machine



J ly 13, 1 E. E. BURROUGHS 2,324,358

BAG MAKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 21, 1941 5 sheets-sheet 1 v INVENTOR [aw/w ffiU/WPOUGY/S i 'i ToRNys y 1943 E. E. BURROUGHS 5 9 BAG MAKING MACHI NE Filed Jan. 21, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 XNVENTOR [an M05. (fit/K6 0067745 ATTORNEYS July 13, 1943. E. E. BURROUGHS BAG MAKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 21, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 13, 1943 BAG MAKING MACHINE Edwin E. Burroughs, Rockaway Beach, N. Y., assignor to Potdevin Machine Company, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 21,1941, Serial No. 375,105

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in bag making machines and is particularly directed to an improvement in the bottoming and delivery drum mechanism, this drum means being provided whereby the bag blanks are automatlcally attached to the bottoming drum by new and novel mechanism, bottomed and then discharged from the machine.

While my improved mechanism is adapted for various types of bag making machines, it is particularly well adapted to bag making machines of the type disclosed by Potdevin Patent No. 2,126,920, dated August 16, 1938.

More specifically the present invention is directed to an improved construction in the mechanism by which the leading end of the bag blank is opened in the initial stages of the bottoming operation, and in the side clamping fingers which grip the bag blank at each side thereof during the bottoming operation.

In the accompanying drawings wherein I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention:

Fig. 1 is a transverse section through the bottoming drum;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bottoming drum;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement of the center gripper and side clamping fingers by which the bag blanks are held attached to the bottoming drum during the bottoming operation;

Fig. 4 is a view of one of the side clamping fingers on an enlarged scale;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are fragmentary elevational views of the bottoming drum illustrating various constructions capable of being employed in the making of bags on my improved machine.

Referring to the drawings in detail: 2 designates the main cylinder or bottoming drum proper. This drum is mounted on a drive shaft 4 to which it is keyed. On this shaft 4 are spiders 6. These spiders are not keyed to the shaft 4 but are adjustably secured to the main cylinder 2 by the slot and bolt arrangement shown at 8. This connection or attachment of the spiders 6 to the main cylinder 2 provides for adjustment of the spiders circumferentially, the purpose of this adjustment being set out in more detail hereinafter.

The shaft 4 is also provided with spiders 10. mounted on the shaft [but not keyed thereto, these spiders being secured to the main cylinder 2 by the bolt and slot connection shown at l2 whereby these spiders may be adjusted circumferentially as will be brought out hereinafter.

The spiders 6 carry a plurality of center grippers l4, equally spaced about the periphery of the drum 2. While the number of center grippers employed may be varied I have elected to illustrate three, these grippers, as just mentioned, being equally spaced about the periphery of the drum or cylinder 2.

The spiders l0 carry a plurality of score jaws l6. Three of these jaws have been illustrated and, as will be seen from the drawings, they are equally spaced about the drum 2. These same spiders carry a plurality of pairs of side gripping 'fingers l8. The score jaws l6 and the side gripper fingers l8 will be referred to for the sake of clarity of description as rear or trailing score jaws and side gripper fingers,

The drum 2 is provided with score jaws 20 which for clarity of description will be called leading score jaws equally spaced about the drum. The drum is also provided with leading side gripper fingers 22 equally spaced about the drum. These score 'jaws and side gripper fingers just mentioned lie intermediate the center gripper and the trailing score jaws and side gripper fingers of each set as will be seen, for example, from Fig. 1. I might mention that in this figure the bottoming drum and its attached mechanism ro tate anti-clockwise.

As mentioned at the outset of this description, this machine might be said to constitute an improvement on the machine of Potdevin Patent No. 2,126,920 and for the purposes of-this description but for no other reason it can be assumed that the mechanism for tubing the bag material and cutting it into bag lengths or bag blanks is the same as that shown in the Potdevin patent just mentioned. With this in mind it will be appreciated, therefore, that the bag blanks are fed to the bottoming drum for the bottoming operation and in coming up to this drum the leading end of each blank is to be opened up and spread flat upon the surface of theibottoming drum, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Referring to this figure it will be seen that in forming the bag blanks the l'eading end of each blank, that is, the end whch is to be bottomed, is cut or formed to provide a fiap on each wall of the blank, the flap 24 on the lower wall, the flap 26 on the upper wall. When a bag blank, such as just described, comes up to the bottoming drum the machine is so timed that one of the center grippers I4 which is a spring closed gripper, its spring being designated 28, will have been opened by the engagement of its operating finger 30 with a cam 32. As the bag length continues its advance and as the drum continues its travel anti-clockwise the finger 30 will ride of! the cam 32 and the center gripper l4 closes upon the tab-like projection of flap 24 on the leading end of the lower wall of the bag blank as shown on Fig. 1 of the drawings. On continued movement of the bottoming drum and bag blank the leading side gripping fingers 22 are caused to function. If reference is made for a moment to Fig. 2 of the drawings it will be seen that there are two of these fingers, one at each side of the bag and that each finger is mounted on a rod 34. These rods are laterally movable and the fingers are rigidly secured thereto although adjustable thereon. The inner ends of the rods are held spaced from each other by a spring 38, the function of this spring being to hold the rods and hence the fingers outwardly laterally of the bag blank. The rods are actuated inwardly so as to move the fingers into, overlapping relation with respect to the sides of the bag blank by cams 88. These cams, as is apparent from Fig. 1, are so located that just after the center gripper l4 has gripped the fiap 24 the side gripper fingers 22 will begin to move inwardly with respect to the bag blank, and about this same time the fingers are being opened by engagement of the arms 40 carried by the rods 34 engaging opentorn between the jaw and its cooperating fixed jaw 68. On further rotation of the drum the trailing score jaw l8 will be opened by the cam 68, this cam being engaged by operating finger 68 of the jaw. The operation of this Jaw is so arranged that the bag will be merely scored by the jaw as distinguished from the clamping action of the jaw 20. .The bag bottom is now held to the drum, in opened position, as illustrated in Fig. 3, by the center gripper H, the score jaw 26 and the leading and trailing side gripper fingers 22 and I8, respectively.

The fingers 22 are next released due to the rods 34 reaching the ends of the cams 38, and

paste is applied to the bag by mechanism which might be similar to that of the Potdevin Patent No. 2,126,920. The center gripper is then released by engagement of its finger 36 with cam ing cams 42 so that when the fingers 22 have been moved in so as to overlap the sides of the bag blank the fingers 22 will have opened and as the arms 48 ride ofi the cams 42 the fingers will close to clamp the lower wall of the bag blank, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

Adjacent the bottoming drum is a pair of discs 44 supporting two rods 46 carrying fingers 48 which are comparable to the fingers 22 and I8 on the main bottoming drum inasmuch as these fingers are adjustable on the rods 46 and are moved laterally. Lateral movement of the fingers so that they will overlap the flap 26 of the bag length at the proper instant is effected by cams 50. Opening of the fingers is efi'ected by cams'52. The parts are so timed with respect to the movement of the bottoming drum that just about the time that the center gripper I4 and the leading side grippers 22 have operated the fingers 48 will have closed upon the flap 26 at the leading end of the bag and inasmuch as the discs 44 are rotating clockwise away from the bottoming drum it will be quite apparent that the bag bottom will be opened up as illustrated in Fig. 1.

As the bottoming drum and the discs 44 continue to rotate away from each other the side gripper fingers 48 carried by the discs will open to release the bag blank and as the drum continues its further rotation the rear or trailing side gripper fingers l8 will function, these fingers being moved inwardly by the cams 54 against the action of the spring 56, these grippers being opened by opening cams 58. We now" have the bag bottom opened and spread fiat upon the surface of the bottoming drum, as shown in Fig. 3, with the center gripper l4 and the side gripper fingers 22 and I8 in gripping or clamping position. On continued rotation of the bottoming drum the leading score jaw 20 is actuated by engagement of its actuating finger 60 with cam 62. This operation of the score jaw is timed with respect to tucker blade 64 which is rotatably mounted in the same fashion as the tucker blades in the Potdevin patent above referred to, for instance, and the timing is such that just as the score jaw 28 is about to close the tucker blade 64 will have tucked the bag bot- 5 it enables me to 12. The bottom is then folded over, as described in the Potdevin patent, above referred to, the trailing side gripper fingers l8 still gripping the bag and the score jaw 20 still being closed. The bag bottom is now completed and the score jaw 20 will next be opened by engagement of its finger 60 with cam 16 and as the drum rotates a bit further the trailing side gripper fingers I8 will be moved outwardly laterally of the bag under the action of the spring 56, this movement being permitted by reason of the fact that the rods carrying these gripper fingers will at this time disengage the cams 54. The finished.

bag is then discharged from the machine in any suitable fashion as, for example, if desired, by mechanism similar to that shown in the Potdevin patent.

In order that the machine may be accommodated to bags of difierent widths the side gripping fingers, one of which is shown in Fig. 4 on an enlarged scale, are mounted on their respective rods adjustably. By simply loosening the bolt 18 by which each finger is clamped to its mounting rod the finger can be moved laterally with respect to the bag lengthwise of the rod. This is of considerable advantage in that employ fingers with a short overhang 80, the shorter this overhang the less spring in the gripper itself and therefore the bag will be held that much more firmly.

In order to accommodate the machine to'bags of different length the center grippers H, as was mentioned at the outset of this'application, are mounted on the spiders 6. These spiders are rotatable on the shaft 4 so that the center grippers can be adjusted circumferentially with respect to the drum or main cylinder 2. In other words, the center grippers can be moved from the full line position of Fig. 3 to the dotted line position in the same figure or vice versa. By the same token, the rear or trailing side gripper fingers l8 together with the score jaw l6 may be adjusted circumferentially of the bottoming drum by reason of the fact that these members are mounted on the spiders III which, as above pointed out, may be adjusted circumferentially on the shaft 4 so that the side gripper fingers can be moved from the full line position to the dotted line position of Fig. 3 and vice versa.

It will be seen from Fig. 3 that I have illustrated two bag blanks, the full line blank being a smaller blank than the broken line blank which for the purpose of convenience I will designate 82. It will be noticed from an inspection of Fig. 3 that not only has the center gripper l4 and trailing side gripper fingers l8 been adjusted circumferentially of the bottoming drum to accommodate this greater length of bag blank but both sets of side gripping fingers 22 and I8 have been moved outwardly of their respective supporting shafts to accommodate the bottom of greater width.

-With respect to Fig. 6 of the drawings, it will be noted that I have omitted the trailing side gripper fingers l8. In this embodiment of my invention the score jaw 16 functions not only as a scoring jaw but as a'clamping jaw as well. The opening of this jaw follows the opening of the center gripper I4, as described in connection with Fig. 5. In other words, in this embodiment of my invention I hold the bag blanks with a center gripper, two sets of score jaws and the leading side gripper fingers 22.

In Fig. '7 I have retained the center gripper I4, the leading and trailing side gripper fingers 22 and i8, respectively, and the leading scOre jaw 20, while the rear score jaw l6 has been replaced by a score groove 90.

It is to be understood'that changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts within the purview of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a bag making machine, the combination of a bottoming drum or cylinder, a pair of opposed rods extending toward each other across said drum, a spring intermediate the inner ends of said rods for normally holding the rods in their outward position relatively to said drum, a side gripper finger slidable upon each rod, a clamping bolt for clamping each finger to each rod for lateral adjustment of the fingers on said rods so a to accommodate the fingers to bags of varying widths, arms carried by said rods, cams intermittentl engaged thereby for pivoting said fingers to open position, and cams adapted substantially simultaneously to actuate said rods and hence said fingers inwardly against the action of said spring into overlapping position with respect to the sides of a bag blank carried by said drum.

2. In a bag making machine, the combination of a bottoming drum, a shaft therefor, a pair of spiders free on said shaft and attached to said drum by slot and bolt connections whereby the spiders may be adjusted circumferentially of said drum, center grippers carried by said spiders, a second pair of spiders free on said shaft andattached to said drum by a slot and bolt connection whereby they may be adjusted circumferentially of said drum, a pair of opposed rods extending across the face of said drum carried by the last mentioned spiders, side grippers cooperable with said said center grippers, and clamping means for clamping said side grippers to said 

